On Feb. 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. The meeting descended into chaos, as Trump accused Zelensky of being unwilling to negotiate a cease-fire, while Zelensky accused Trump and Vice President JD Vance of being misled about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions.
The meeting was intended to secure a minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine. On Feb. 25, Trump requested between $300 and 350 billion in mineral resources in exchange for continued U.S. support. In order to sign the minerals deal, Zelensky was requesting explicit U.S. security guarantees to ensure that Russia does not attack again or break a cease-fire. However, Trump has continuously refused these guarantees, causing Zelensky to reject the deal.
There was around half an hour of formalities at the start of the meeting before tensions started to flare between Vance and Zelensky. Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for U.S. military aid, and asked why the Ukrainian president hadn’t thanked the Trump administration. Vance asked Zelensky, “Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?”
Zelensky said that America is not feeling the problems of the war, but soon will, and Trump responded that Zelensky is not in a good position. “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump said.
After about 10 minutes of arguing, Trump ended the meeting, saying, “I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on. That’s why I kept this going so long.” Following the meeting, Trump aides asked Zelensky to leave the White House, according to nbcnews.com
Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on March 1. Starmer stated Ukraine has “full backing across the United Kingdom,” according to bbc.com.
Two days after the Oval Office meeting, Zelensky said the end of the war is “very, very far away.” However, after more backlash from Trump, on March 2, Zelensky said Ukraine is now willing to sign the minerals deal if Trump will invite him back for a “constructive dialogue,” according to yahoo.com. Zelensky is also open to a partial cease-fire to restart peace talks.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party has grown more hostile toward Ukraine. On Feb. 17, Trump blamed Zelensky for starting the war, calling him a “dictator without elections,” according to cbsnews.com. Since the meeting, several lawmakers have called for Zelensky’s resignation, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who said unless Zelensky comes to his senses, “someone else needs to lead the country.”
Democratic Senator Jack Reed said, “Unlike Donald Trump or JD Vance, I have traveled to Ukraine and seen firsthand the death and destruction wrought by Vladimir Putin against innocent people. To mock Ukraine and our allies is a travesty that only benefits Putin.”
However, on March 3, Trump took a more cooperative stance, saying he believes Zelensky should be more appreciative of American support. Trump was clear that he wanted peace and halted aid to Ukraine in order to ensure they were contributing to a solution. While Trump had previously blocked new aid from being approved, this freeze prevents the aid Congress approved during the Biden administration from arriving, since weapons take roughly eight months to ship according to axios.com.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has approved $175 billion in assistance for Ukraine, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact. The United States has provided over half of Ukraine’s overall aid, according to csis.com.
Most recently, on Tuesday, negotiations began again between Ukrainian officials and a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. After more than 8 hours of negotiations, according to cbsnews.com, in a joint statement released by the state department, Kyiv said they would accept a 30-day cease-fire with Russia and Washington pledged to immediately lift a freeze on intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine. According to the statement, “The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”
In a press briefing following the meeting, Rubio said, “The ball is now in [Russia’s] court.”
As of Hi’s Eye print deadline, everyone awaits Russia’s response.